Systems, apparatuses, and methods for ordering items from an electronic menu, and servicing thereof

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for ordering items from an electronic menu and servicing thereof, in a networked computing environment that communicably connects via at least one network at least a plurality of first handheld electronic devices (e.g., wait staff operated devices in a restaurant), a plurality of second handheld electronic devices (e.g., patron operated devices in a restaurant) configured to display the electronic menu, and a venue computer are described. Corresponding apparatuses are also described.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/098,871 which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/666,847 filed Mar. 24, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,582,825 issued Feb.28, 2017), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/969,630 filed Mar. 24, 2014, which are hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Certain example embodiments relate to techniques for the ordering ofitems using an electronic menu (eMenu) and/or the servicing of suchorders for use in connection with electronic devices including, forexample, tablets, phablets, smartphones, and/or other electronicdevices.

BACKGROUND

Electronic menus (eMenus) are becoming more and more popular, especiallyas prices for electronic devices such as tablets, phablets, smartphones,and the like, continue to drop. Some restaurants have made moves to maketheir current physical menus available via custom applications (apps)that run on such electronic devices.

In addition to presenting an eMenu in electronic form, which a patroncan use to place orders for menu items, aspects of interaction of apatron with other patrons and aspects of interaction between the patronand wait staff can be improved yielding better customer experiences andefficiencies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the instantinvention will be further understood by review of the following detaileddescription of the exemplary embodiments when read in conjunction withthe appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing elements that may exist in arestaurant for receiving orders for items and/or servicing such items,in accordance with certain exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing elements that may exist in arestaurant for receiving orders for items and/or servicing such items,in accordance with certain exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer that may be includedin one or more embodiments;

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate a flowchart for a technique for orderingitems and servicing such orders in accordance with certain exemplaryembodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example wait staff login screen on astaff-operable device in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example wait staff login error screen on astaff-operable device in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a list of all tables with assigned patron-operabledevices as shown on a staff-operable device in accordance with one ormore embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates a listing of all active tables currently assigned toa particular staff member, as it would be displayed on the correspondingstaff-operable device in accordance with certain exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates another example listing of all active tablescurrently assigned to a particular staff member, as it would bedisplayed on the corresponding staff-operable device in accordance withcertain exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates a screen on a staff-operable device during atransfer operation, in accordance with certain exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates a screen on a staff-operable device during a moveoperation, in accordance with certain exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example menu displayed on a patron-operabledevice in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example screen of a patron-operable device whenitems are selected, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 14 illustrates another example screen of a patron-operable devicewhen items are selected, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 15 illustrates a screen using which a patron can modify a selectedorder item in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 16 illustrates a screen using which a patron can enter a commentregarding a selected order item, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 17 illustrates the display of a menu item modification screenbefore the item is added to the virtual drawer, in accordance withcertain embodiments;

FIG. 18 illustrates a virtual drawer with two items in it, in accordancewith certain embodiments;

FIG. 19 illustrates when no items are in the tab for selected but notordered tab in the virtual drawer, in accordance with certainembodiments;

FIG. 20 illustrates the ordered items tab of the virtual drawerindicating that two items have been ordered, in accordance with certainembodiments;

FIGS. 21-27 illustrate example menu screens for build your own types ofselections, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 28 illustrates an example listing of ordered items displayed on astaff-operable device, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIGS. 29-31 illustrate example listings of ordered items displayed on astaff-operable device, in accordance with certain embodiments; and

FIGS. 32-34 illustrate example listings of alerts on a staff-operabledevice, in accordance with certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain exemplary embodiments relate to systems and methods forfacilitating ordering of items and/or of servicing such orders, for usein connection with electronic devices such as, for example, tablets,phablets, smartphones, and/or other electronic devices. Certainembodiments include techniques for synchronizing communication ofinformation regarding the orders between patrons' devices, wait staff'sdevices, servers and other processing components. Such synchronizationmay yield ordering systems with improved efficiency and usability invarious environments including, but not limited to, restaurants.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a blockdiagram showing elements that may exist in a restaurant in which aneMenu is used for ordering items in accordance with certain exemplaryembodiments. Many patron-operable devices (or “patron devices) 102 a-102j are shown in FIG. 1. In the FIG. 1 example, the patron-operabledevices 102 a-102 j are grouped such that each member in a party mayhave his or her own patron-operable device 102. As indicated above, theindividual devices may be tablets, phablets, smartphones, and/or otherelectronic devices. The devices may be the same or different devicetypes in different implementations, and they may be the patrons' owndevices (e.g., onto which a suitable eMenu application has beendownloaded and installed), devices provided by the restaurant and loanedto the patrons (e.g., onto which the same or similar suitable eMenuapplication has been downloaded and installed), or a mixture of the two.The patrons may use the patron-operable devices 102 a-102 j to browse aneMenu made in accordance with, for example, one or more techniquesdescribed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/901,400 filed onNov. 7, 2013, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/535,902 filed onNov. 7, 2014 which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. In certain exemplary embodiments, placing orders, calling astaff member (e.g., with a predefined message such as, fore example,“ready to order,” “please bring refills,” “napkins needed”, “checkplease”, etc.; a custom message; and/or as a general matter without aspecific message), playing single or multi-player games (e.g.,table-wide, restaurant-wide, and/or broader-scale games such as trivia),controlling a television or other display provided at table orelsewhere, interacting with a jukebox, and/or interacting with otherentertainment offerings. Patron-operable devices may be distributed topatrons prior to their being seated for use in the location, e.g., forordering drinks from a bar, playing games, receiving notifications whena table is ready, checking on estimated wait times and/or location in aqueue, etc.

Wait staff who serve the patrons may have their own wait staff devices104 a-104 c. Wait staff operable devices 104 a-104 c may be used toplace orders on behalf of patrons, confirm patrons' orders, etc. Ahost-operable device 106, which may run the same or similar applicationas the wait staff operable devices 104 a-104 c, also may be provided.These devices may also provide waitlist information, generate estimatedwait times, etc.

In certain exemplary embodiments, the wait staff operable devices 104a-104 c and/or the host-operable device 106 may be phablets or smallertablets, e.g., to facilitate mobility, whereas the patron-operabledevices 102 a-102 j may be larger tablets or the like.

A local server 108 is provided in the location, e.g., to provide contentcaching (e.g., useful in the administration of local games such astrivia), coordination of media output to the displays 110 a-110 c,distribution of newly downloaded music to the jukebox 112, generatebackups of orders and/or other onsite information, etc. The local server108 thus may have a connection to the Internet and/or another outsidenetwork.

In addition to or in place of the local server 108, certain exemplaryembodiments may incorporate a management computer 114. The managementcomputer 114 and/or the local server 108 may receive orders from thewait staff operable devices 104 a-104 c and/or the patron-operabledevices 102 a-102 j (e.g., depending on the implementation in terms ofwho is allowed to place orders). It also may relay orders to kitchenstaff, manage notifications to wait staff when orders are ready,generate bills, etc. The management computer 114 may also administer thewaitlist, potentially keeping track of when parties are seated, how longparties remain seated on average and/or in accordance with a generalrule defined by the location and/or an outside party, etc. Thehost-operable device 106, the wait staff operable devices 104 a-104 c,and/or the patron-operable devices 102 a-102 j may be able to accessthis waitlist information, e.g., as indicated above. The local server108 may backup this and/or other related information in certainexemplary embodiments.

The displays 110 a-110 c may be televisions or other professionaldisplays and, as such, may receive video feeds from cable boxes,satellite receivers, streaming network sources over IP, and/or the like.As alluded to above, the displays 110 a-110 c may be managed by thelocal server 108 and/or the management computer 114.

The jukebox 112 may be a digital downloading jukebox or the like. See,for example, U.S. Publication No. 2013/0070093, the entire contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein by reference. As alluded to above,the jukebox 112 may be interacted with and/or at least partiallycontrolled by host-operable device 106, the wait staff operable devices104 a-104 c, and/or the patron-operable devices 102 a-102 j.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of a system that may be deployed in arestaurant or other environment in order to facilitate the placement oforders for various items by patrons (e.g., customers, clients, guestswho may place orders for items) and the servicing of such orders. Thesystem in FIG. 2 is illustrated in the context of a restaurant 201. Theitems ordered could be food items, drinks, or other goods or servicesitem that may be ordered by a patron. For example, in some embodiments,the items can also include souvenirs or other items available forpurchase, music, audio and/or video items to be displayed to the patronordering such items, or an additional goods or services item that isassociated with one or more other ordered items. The system forfacilitating of ordering items and/or servicing of such orders includeone or more devices at the venue (e.g., restaurant) 201, and may alsoinclude one or more cloud servers 212 communicatively connected to oneor more devices at venue 201 through an external network 214, such as,for example, the Internet. In some embodiments, external network 214 mayinclude a corporate wide area network. Cloud servers 212 may include oneor more computers located in a central location or distributed overmultiple locations but communicatively connected to the venue 201,directly or indirectly, by the external network 214.

The venue 201 may include a plurality of patron-operable devices 202(e.g., tablets, phablets, smartphones, etc., operated by a patron), aplurality of wait staff-operable devices (or “staff devices”) 204 (e.g.,tablets, phablets, smartphones, etc., operated by a server or othermember of the wait staff), a venue computer 208 (e.g., one or more PCs,server computers) and, optionally, a separate point of sale terminal210. Venue 201 may include, or may be included in, an environment suchas that described with respect to FIG. 1.

Patron-operable devices 202 and wait staff-operable device (alsoreferred to as staff-operable device or staff device) 204 may includehandheld electronic devices such as, for example, tablets, phablets,smartphones and/or other electronic devices. Patron-operable devices 202may include devices provided either by the patron (e.g., patron's ownpersonal tablet or smartphone) or by the venue (e.g., a tablet that isvenue-owned and assigned for use to a patron during his presence at ornear the venue). Application programs that at least facilitate orderingof items execute on patron-operable devices 202. The applicationprograms executing on patron-operable devices may also include, but arenot limited to, functionality for, one or more of, dynamically updatingand/or reconfiguring the electronic menu, communication with waitstaff-operable devices and/or other patron-operable device, obtainingand displaying advertisements, obtaining and displaying otherinformation (e.g., information about the venue, general information suchas weather, sports/current event news etc., information about some ofthe ordered items or about one or more items in the electronic menu,etc.), and/or facilitating interaction with other systems (e.g., jukebox112 show in FIG. 1) at the venue. Staff-operable devices 204 may includeeither staff-provided handheld electronic devices (e.g., wait staffmember's own personal tablet or smartphone) and/or venue providedhandheld electronic devices (e.g., a tablet that is venue-owned andassigned for use to a wait staff member during his shift).Staff-operable devices 204 execute application programs that facilitatethe servicing of orders that are initiated by the patron-operabledevices 202. The application programs executing on staff-operabledevices may also include, but are not limited to, functionality for, oneor more of, dynamically updating and/or reconfiguring the electronicmenu, communication with patron-operable devices and/or otherstaff-operable device, and/or facilitating interaction with othersystems (e.g., jukebox 112 show in FIG. 1) at the venue.

Venue computer 208 may include one or more servers and/or personalcomputers. Venue computer 208 may facilitate communication and/orsynchronization between itself, patron-operable devices 202 andstaff-operable devices 204. Venue computer 208 may provide for storingand/or distributing the eMenus and/or other information to thepatron-operable devices 202 and staff-operable devices 204. Venuecomputer 208 may also facilitate the communication of ordered itemsand/or other information associated with the ordering to staff-operabledevices 204 and/or locations where servicing of ordered items isperformed. In some embodiments venue computer 208 may be included inanother device such as, for example, jukebox 112.

At venue 201, one or more local networks 209, for example, such as, aWIFI or other wireless local area network (e.g., Bluetooth, near fieldcommunication etc.), may be configured to provide interconnectivitybetween the devices. In some embodiments, one or more of patron-operabledevices 202, staff-operable devices 204 may communicate between oneanother using a second local network connection, such as, for example,Bluetooth or near field communication. While in some embodiments, directcommunication between similarly configured (e.g., assigned to the sametable) patron-operable devices and also between a patron-operable deviceand a staff-operable device assigned to the same table is enabled, insome embodiments, all communications between two patron-operable devicesassigned to the same table, the communication between a staff-operabledevice and a patron-operable device assigned to the same table and/orthe communication between staff-operable devices are via one or morecentral nodes, such as, for example, the venue computer. Forcommunication between devices that are located at the venue 201, themessage exchange may be facilitated by only the one or more localnetworks 209. Any messages from a component located in venue 201 to anexternal location, including, for example, communication between venuecomputer 208 and cloud servers 212 is via external network 214.

In some embodiments, venue 201 includes a point of sale (POS) system210. POS system may include any type of POS, such as, for example, athird-party provided POS system. In some embodiments, POS system 210 maybe a separate device including a computer, and in some otherembodiments, the POS system may include venue computer 208. POS system210 includes application programs to keep track of costs of variousordered items, prepare billing statements, prepare receipts,accept/process payments, etc.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer 300 that may beincluded in one or more embodiments. Computer 300 includes at least oneprocessor 302, memory 304, storage 306, communication interface(s) 308,output device(s) 310, input device(s) 312, and communicationinfrastructure 314. Each of patron-operable devices 202, staff operabledevices 204, venue computer 208, POS system 209, and cloud server 212may include a suitably configured computer 300.

Processor(s) 302 may include one or more of a central processing unit,digital signal processor, ASIC, graphic processing unit, and/or otherprocessor. Processor(s) operate to execute one or more programs includedin, for example, application code 320. Programs included in applicationcode 320 may include one or more of programs to enable ordering of itemsby patrons at venue 201, programs to enable servicing of orders by waitstaff at venue 201, and/or programs to enable synchronization betweendevices in the system for ordering and servicing of orders at venue 201.Application code 320 may also include programs for obtaining andmaintaining data 322 (e.g., data regarding menu items that can beordered, including price, availability, description, associated images,and related information), programs for billing and charging patrons,etc.

Memory 304 may include volatile memory such as, for example, randomaccess memory (RAM), and may include portions of application code 320and/or data 322 during execution of programs by processor(s) 302.Storage 306 includes non-volatile memory such as, for example, magneticand/or optical disk storage, and FLASH storage. Application code 320and/or data 322 may be stored in storage 306.

Communication interface(s) 308 includes one or more of a networkcommunication interface such as a wireless local area network interface,a Bluetooth interface, and/or near field communication interface.Communication interface(s) 308 may provide for computer 300 tocommunicate with another computer located locally at the same venue orremotely to exchange messages.

Output device(s) 310 may include one or more of, for example, a display(e.g., screen, touchscreen, monitor, etc.) and printer. Input device(s)312 may include one or more of, for example, keyboard, mouse, touchpad,touchscreen, etc.

Communication infrastructure 314 provides for communication betweencomponents within computer 300, such as, for example, between components302-312.

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C illustrate a flowchart 400 for a technique forordering items and servicing such orders in accordance with certainexemplary embodiments. The technique illustrated in the flowchartcomprises operations 402-436, including operations performed by patrons,wait staff (including hostess), venue computer, patron-operable devices,staff-operable devices, POS system, and cloud or other servers. It willbe understood that, in some embodiments, ordering and/or servicing ofsuch orders may be performed in accordance with the teachings in thisspecification by performing operations 402-436 in a different order thanthat shown, by excluding one or more of the operations 402-436, and/orby including one of more additional operations than that shown.

At operation 402, a process for ordering items and servicing such ordersis started. As described below, ordering items and the servicing of suchorders according to embodiments, involve actions performed by one ormore patrons on patron-operable devices and one or more wait staffmembers on staff-operable devices, and may also include other processingentities and users.

At operation 404 one or more patron-operable devices 202, one or morestaff-operable devices 204 and venue computer 208 are initialized and/orprovided with the initial configuration to commence operations to enableordering of items and/or for servicing such orders, for example, in avenue such as, but not limited to, a restaurant. Operation 404 may beperformed, for example, before the restaurant opens for lunch or dinner.

Initializing the venue computer 208 may include obtaining and/orupdating information for providing menu information, informationregarding number of tables that may be assigned at least onepatron-operable device, information regarding wait staff membersavailable etc. Initializing a patron-operable device 202 or astaff-operable device 204 may include enabling that device tocommunicate with the rest of the ordering and servicing system by atleast communicating with the venue computer 208. In some embodiments,some or all of the menu information (e.g., information regarding itemsthat may be ordered, and other associated information) may be stored onthe patron-operable device 202 or on the staff-operable device 204during initialization for use later during the ordering and/or servicingactivity. In other embodiments, the storing of such information ondevices 202 and/or 204 is not performed during initialization, and theinformation is obtained during the ordering and/or servicing activityfrom the venue computer 208 and/or cloud servers 212 via one or more ofnetworks 209 and 214. The performing of the initial configuration uponpatron-operable devices and/or staff-operable devices may includedownloading of an application to a personal tablet, smartphone or likedevice provided by the patron and/or staff. For example, a patron or amember of the wait staff may upon entering the venue, using a browser ontheir own smartphone may, by visiting a predetermined website orscanning a QR code, download the relevant app or application program.The downloaded application would then perform operations describedherein as those performed by the patron-operable device or thestaff-operable device.

At operation 406, a particular staff operable device 204 is activated byassigning it to a wait staff member. The assigning may include entering,either on the staff operable device 204 or on the venue computer 208, aunique code identifying the wait staff member. The association betweenthe wait staff member, as identified by the entered unique code, and theparticular staff-operable device 204 may be recorded at venue computer208. The venue computer 208, based upon the unique code, may accesspreviously stored information about the wait staff member. The accessedpreviously stored information about staff members may include generalinformation such as the name and/or picture of the staff member, tablepreferences and/or preferred assignments, working hours, etc.

According to an embodiment, a wait staff member is assigned to astaff-operable device when the wait staff member logs into thatstaff-operable device with a 1-12 digit wait staff member identificationnumber. The staff member's identification number may be the same numberused to log into the restaurant's POS, and/or used for timecard purposesetc. The entered staff member identification number may be authenticatedbased on data, for example, that is stored in the venue computer, cloudservers, or other server.

According to an embodiment, a 10 digit login screen appears (e.g., 0-9,like a phone dialer or ATM login). The screen may include an “ENTER” anda “CANCEL” button. “CANCEL” clears any numbers entered. The wait staffmember may enter his individual identification number and tap “ENTER”.If the identification number is authenticated (e.g., the enteredidentification number matches one in a stored list for that restaurant)then a screen for selecting a table may be displayed. FIG. 5 illustratesan example wait staff login screen on a staff-operable device. Ifauthorization fails, an error message may be displayed, e.g., “Sorry,that code is not recognized. Please try again,” and return the user tothe identification number entry screen. FIG. 6 illustrates an examplewait staff login error screen on a staff-operable device in accordancewith one or more embodiments.

At operation 408, a particular patron-operable device 202 is activatedby assigning it to a table. For example, when a patron is seated at atable, he or she may be handed the patron-operable device 202. Accordingto an embodiment, patron-operable device 202 is assigned to a table byselecting and/or entering a table number on the device 202. In otherembodiments, the assignment may be selected and/or entered by input atthe venue computer 208 or a staff-operable device 204. In this manner, aplurality of patron-operable devices 202 may be assigned to one table byusing a table number or other such predetermined identifier for thattable. It will be understood that although the description hereinassociates a predetermined identifier with a table, the predeterminedidentifier is used to identify a group of patrons that are to be servedas one group and members of that group may be at none (i.e., notphysically seated at a table), one or more tables in the restaurant. Forexample, if three patrons are seated at table 10, then threepatron-operable devices 202 (e.g., patron tablets 1, 2 and 3) may beassigned to table 10. The respective assignments are recorded at venuecomputer 208 (e.g., venue computer may record in memory or storage that:patron tablet 1 is assigned table 10; patron tablet 2 is assigned table10; and patron tablet 3 is assigned table 10).

In some embodiments, a hostess seating restaurant patrons at a table mayhand each patron a patron-operable device. The patron-operable devicemay be assigned to that table via a user interface (UI) on eachpatron-operable device. After the assignment is made, at least someembodiments may not permit changing of the assignment by a patron.Patrons may begin browsing menu items and ordering from devicesimmediately, but a wait staff member's personal information (e.g., name)is not displayed on the patron-operable devices until the wait staffmember “starts” that table.

It will be understood that any number of patron-operable devices may beassigned to a table at a given time, and that any number of tables mayhave assigned patron-operable devices at a given time. In someembodiments, a particular patron-operable device is assigned, at anygiven time, to only a single table.

At operation 410, a list of tables currently having at least one activepatron-operable device 202 is displayed on one or more of the activestaff-operable devices 204 and/or venue computer 208. Any wait staffmember may bring up a list of all tables on his assigned staff-operabledevice. In some embodiments, the list may only be displayed to selectedactive staff operable devices, such as, for example, those assigned towait staff members who are yet not assigned a configured thresholdnumber of tables and/or those staff-operable devices that have aselectable option indicating that the wait staff member is available tohandle a new table. In some embodiments, the determination as to whetherto display the list on a particular device 204 may be based on the totalnumber of patron-operable devices currently assigned to tablesassociated with the particular device.

The list may indicate a status of each table as to whether a wait staffmember has started that table and has not yet ended the table,patron-operable devices have been assigned to the table but a wait staffmember has not started that table, or whether a the table's check ispaid in full, but the wait staff member has not yet ended the table. Ifno patron-operable devices are assigned to a table (which is the caseafter a wait staff member ends a table) then the table may not displayin the list. A wait staff member may start a table by selecting it fromthis list of tables.

The list may show only the tables that are not currently assigned to await staff member, or may show all or some tables while separatelyidentifying the tables yet unassigned to a wait staff member. FIG. 7illustrates a list of all tables with assigned patron-operable devicesas shown on a staff-operable device. As shown, two tables are listed asunclaimed. Already assigned tables are shown with the currently assignedwait staff member name.

At operation 412, a wait staff member is assigned to a table (e.g., await staff member “claims” the table). A particular wait staff membermay be assigned to a table by entering and/or selecting the table on thecorresponding staff-operable device 204. Alternatively, the assignmentmay be made by associating a particular wait staff member orcorresponding staff-operable device and a table by providing input atthe venue computer.

According to some embodiments, a wait staff member who is currentlylogged in to a staff-operable device, can “start” (i.e. be assigned tothe table) one or more tables. When the wait staff member is aware thata new table has been seated, he may enter and/or select the tablenumber. FIG. 7 illustrates a “start” option next to two of the tableslisted as unclaimed. The purpose of “starting” the table is to associatethe patron-operable devices that are assigned to that table to therelevant staff-operable device.

In some embodiments, when the table is started the wait staff member'sinformation (e.g., name, picture, etc.) may be displayed on allpatron-operable devices assigned to that table. Any orders that havealready been placed by that table (e.g., via the patron-operable devicescurrently assigned to that table) are displayed in the staff-operabledevice.

In some embodiments, a wait staff member is able to bring up a screenlisting all his active tables (i.e. all tables he has started but notyet ended). FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate example listings of all activetables currently assigned to a particular staff member, as it would bedisplayed on the corresponding staff-operable device. As shown, forexample, in FIG. 9, each table number (displayed, for example, by anumber or text string) may have corresponding buttons to performactions, such as, for example, “END”, “TRANSFER” or “MOVE” for eachtable assigned to him. The list may be presented in the order the waitstaff member started the tables; i.e. oldest table on top and newesttable on the bottom. When a wait staff member ends a table, it isremoved from the list.

Tapping on the table number in his active tables list may take the waitstaff member to a screen where all menu items ordered at thecorresponding table, and status for each ordered from that table aredisplayed. In some embodiments, other information, such as, for example,the number of patron-operated devices assigned to the table, and whetheror not each patron-operated device is a venue owned device may bedisplayed in the same screen or in a different screen.

Wait staff may occasionally need to transfer tables between themselves,for example, if an employee goes on break or ends their shift. Thus,some embodiments provide for a wait staff member to transfer a tablecurrently assigned to him to another wait staff member. This may beperformed by the first wait staff member (who has the table currentlyassigned) selecting the table to be transferred from a list of hisactive tables displayed in his staff-operable device, and then selectinga second wait staff member from a list of all active wait staff member(i.e. wait staff who have a currently assigned staff-operable device)also displayed on his staff-operable device. FIG. 9 illustrates a screenwith a list of the tables of a particular server, and a set ofselectable choices to effect a transfer, move or end the table, beingassociated with each table. As the listing of tables in FIG. 9 indicateseach table may be identified by a number, an alpha numeric code, or anidentifier such as a name of a person. If server Michael P. wants totransfer one of the listed tables to another server, then he can select“transfer” for the entry corresponding to that table. FIG. 10illustrates a screen on a staff-operable device during a transferoperation, in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 10 illustrates ascreen after the server Michael P. has chosen to initiate a transfer ofthe table identified as Edwards. As shown in FIG. 10, a listing ofactive servers is displayed together with buttons or other input toconfirm or cancel the transfer. Server Michael P. can select either hisname (e.g., in the event that he wants to transfer table Edwards back tohimself) or a name of another wait staff member from the list displayedon the left of the screen, in order to transfer the table identified asEdwards.

When a table is transferred from a first wait staff member to a secondwait staff member, the following may occur. The wait staff member name,picture etc. on the patron-operable devices assigned to that tablechanges to show the new wait staff member information, the table isremoved from the first wait staff member's active tables list, and isnewly displayed in the second wait staff member's active tables list,all order data and active alerts etc. for the table are now displayed onthe new wait staff member's staff-operable device.

In some embodiments, the transfer may be initiated before the new waitstaff member has a staff-operable device assigned to him. For example,the new wait staff member may be selected from a list of all wait staffmembers. In this case, even after the transfer is selected from the listof the first staff member's active tables, the table remains in thefirst staff member's active list until the new wait staff member logsinto his staff-operable device, and thereafter having the transferperformed and/or completed.

Occasionally, wait staff members may want to move a party from one tableto another, or from the bar area to a table. When such a move is made,all order history for the party being moved should remain even thoughthe table number/name is changed. According to an embodiment, a waitstaff member may move a party from an old table to a new table byselecting the old table from the list of his active tables and thenindicating the new table. FIG. 11 illustrates a screen displayed on astaff-operable device during a move operation, in accordance with anembodiment. The new table may be selected from a list of tables or bymanually inputting an identifier for the new table. Lists, such as thewait staff member's active tables list and the overall table list may beupdated to reflect the newly activated table.

At operation 414 a menu is displayed on the one or more patron-operabledevices 202. The information for the displayed menu may be obtainedreal-time from the venue computer 208 or from cloud servers 212, or theinformation may be pre-stored (e.g., during initialization on device202). In some embodiments, the menu information is loaded to the device202 upon initialization, and is updated either periodically orcontinuously with changes to the menu. FIG. 12 illustrates an examplemenu displayed on a patron-operable device in accordance with certainembodiments. As shown in FIG. 12, the menu may be presented so that thepatron can freely select from a set of categories of items (e.g.,appetizers, sandwiches, barbeque, entrees, salads, soups, burgers andhotdogs, sides, etc.), and for a selected category to display ascrollable display of various items with an image, a name, a price, adescription, a summary of choices for each item etc.

At operation 416, the patron may browse the displayed menu. Browsing themenu may include browsing through multiple pages, invoking subscreensfor detailed information about menu items, freely selecting (e.g., goingback and forth) between different categories (e.g., appetizers, entrees,etc.), and the like.

At operation 418, the patron may select an item. Selecting an item mayinclude selecting the item by touching the portion of the display wherethat item is displayed, by using a checkbox, or by other method ofinput. FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate example screens of the patron-operabledevice when items are selected, in accordance with certain embodiments.

Selecting an item may also include specifying related servinginformation, such as, for example, the number of portions (e.g., twoorders of the item), and preparation preferences (e.g., well done orrare, spicy or mild etc.). The patron may, optionally, indicatemodifications for the menu item. FIG. 15 illustrates a screen usingwhich a patron can modify a selected order item in accordance withcertain embodiments. Some embodiments provide for the patron to add afree form (e.g., text and special characters) note to any selected item.In some embodiments, the free form note may include audio and/or videoprovided or recorded by the patron. FIG. 16 illustrates a screen usingwhich a patron can enter a comment regarding a selected order item, inaccordance with certain embodiments.

The patron may indicate the selection of an item by placing thecorresponding menu item into a virtual “drawer”. According to someembodiments, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, patrons at a table can add anyitem on the menu to the table's virtual drawer by tapping a plus sign(“+”) on every menu item or the ‘order’ button on every menu item detailpage (note that not every menu item will have a menu item detail page).Upon indicating that an item is added to the virtual drawer thefollowing may occur: if the selected menu item has modifications(mandatory or optional) associated with it, then a menu itemmodification screen is displayed before adding the item to the drawer(patrons may be required to complete the screen to add the item to thedrawer); and, if the selected menu item does not have any modificationsassociated with it, no modification screen is displayed and the item isadded to the drawer. FIG. 17 illustrates the display of a menu itemmodification screen before the item is added to the virtual drawer, inaccordance with certain embodiments. In FIG. 17, a menu item has beenalready selected, but the patron is required to specify the size of themenu item order in order to have it added to the drawer.

The virtual drawer is such that, when an item is added to the drawer,then the drawer tab may change color (e.g., to green from red) and thetotal number of items in the drawer is displayed on the tab. The tab maybe a color such as red and may display “0 items” until an item is added.Tapping the tab when it is red may result in the drawer being “slid out”and a help message being displayed. FIG. 18 illustrates a virtual drawerwith two items in it, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 19illustrates when no items are in the tab for selected but not orderedtab in the virtual drawer, in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG.20 illustrates the ordered items tab of the virtual drawer indicatingthat two items have been ordered.

Because patrons can place multiple orders during the course of a meal,items already ordered may be differentiated from those that have not yetbeen ordered. Some embodiments include two tabs in the drawer, such as,for example, “NOT YET ORDERED” (or, “ITEMS SELECTED”?) and “TABLE'SBILL”.

After the menu item is added to the drawer, the menu item module statuschanges: the “+” becomes a number, e.g., “1” indicating the number ofthose items that are in the drawer. This is displayed across all tabletsassigned to the same table. If any of the patrons using tablets at thatsame table (e.g., any of the patron devices having been assigned thesame predetermined identifier as the table identifier) taps the numberon the menu item module, then another of the same item is added to thedrawer; note that if the item has a modification page then thatmodification page may be displayed and completed every time that item isadded to the drawer.

Once a menu item is added to the drawer, that menu item's title (but notdescription) will display on the “NOT YET ORDERED” tab. Also indicatefor each item on the list are the menu item price, modificationsselected in the modification screen (if any), an “X” for patrons toremove the item from the list, a pencil icon indicating the patron canadd a note to any item in the drawer. If count >1, note applies to all.Note may be limited by the number of characters (e.g., 120). A messagebox that is clearly associated with the menu item in question and aQWERTY keyboard may display when a patron tabs the pencil icon. The “NOTYET ORDERED” tab may also include a button at the bottom of the tabreading “PLACE ORDER”.

The selecting a menu item, may also include selecting one or moreoptions associated with the menu item. The one or more options may beselected from the menu in a drill-down manner (e.g., when menu item isselected, a first level of options are displayed for selection), may bedisplayed for selection in the display along with the respective menuitems, or may be entered in free form text. An example set of drill downoptions is illustrated in FIGS. 22-27.

At operation 420, the selected menu item is displayed on any otherpatron-operable devices associated with the same table. If a patron addsa menu item with modifications (“mods”) to the drawer, then a screen maybe displayed showing all the modifications that the restaurant choosesto present for that item grouped by type and indicating requiredcompared optional.

The modifications screen may have the following features: groups ofmodifications with a title, “required” or “optional”, modificationoptions, and either radio buttons (if mandatory modification) or checkboxes (if optional modification) next to each option.

Patrons may select one (and only one) of the forced modifier options ineach group. Patrons may select multiple optional modifier options ineach group, or may select none. “Cancel” button that closes themodifications screen and returns the patron to browsing the menu (thiscould be an “X” in the upper right corner instead of a cancel button ifthat is more consistent with other screen designs). “Next” button thatsaves the patron's choices, adds the menu item to the drawer, and closesthe modifications screen. The patron may see a transitory messagereading “item added” when they tap “Next.” If there are requiredmodifications, the “Next” button may be grayed out and unusable untilall required selections are made.

If the user taps the grayed out “Next” button, then a message reading“Please make all required selections” may be displayed to keep the useron the modifications screen. The POS may have more options thanpresented on the example modifications screen.

In some embodiments, one or more of the order items may include highlycustomizable orders, such as, for example, build your own pizza, etc.,that enable the patron to browse through several screens of options,additions, etc., regarding a particular menu item from the higher levelof the menu. Example build your own menu item screens are illustrated inFIGS. 21-27.

At operation 422, the patron may determine whether to submit (e.g.,place the order for) the selected item. If not submitted, the itemremains as selected but not submitted, and operations 416-422 arerepeated for selecting one or more other items from the menu.

When, at operation 424, the patron determines to submit one or moreitems, the submitted item is displayed as such in the otherpatron-operable devices 202 assigned to the same table. For example, oneach device 202 at the same table, a list of items in which thesubmitted items and selected (but not yet submitted) items areseparately identified is displayed in a visually distinguishable manner.Submit may be performed by submitting any one or more selected itemscurrently in the shared drawer at a time. Any of the patron-operabledevices assigned to the table can submit the items in the shared drawer.In some embodiments, any of the patrons at the table may makemodifications (e.g., change or remove) to any of the items in the shareddrawer. In some embodiments, where there is POS integration, the itemsthat have been ordered list from the POS may be displayed, rather thanwhat is tracked locally on the patron-operable devices, as they maydiffer.

Once at least one item has been placed in the drawer, any patron at thetable can submit the order by tapping the “PLACE ORDER” button. When apatron submits the order, the patron is shown a message saying “Yourorder has been received” and all items in the “NOT YET ORDERED” tab aremoved to the “TABLE'S BILL” tab for display.

Patrons can add new items to the “NOT YET ORDERED” tab and submit themas many times through the meal as they wish, or not submit one or moreof them.

Order processing flow may be performed in several different ways,depending on whether or not there is POS integration, whetherrestaurants want items to be sent to the POS automatically or not, andwhether or not the item conforms to standard menu items:

When no POS integration is included, manual order processing may beperformed. In this scenario, all items (including modifications and freeform notes) are sent to the venue computer and from there to thestaff-operable handheld associated with the table. The wait staff membermay manually enter the items into the POS.

When POS is integrated, automatic processing occurs. In this scenario,the restaurant has chosen to designate some or all menu categories forautomatic processing, meaning those items should be routed to therestaurant's POS from the venue computer and sent to the appropriateprinters with no manual processing required by staff. Note that, atleast in some embodiments, it is possible for a table to submit an orderwith a mix of automatic and manual menu items.

The submitted items may be routed to the staff-operable deviceassociated with the table, and may visually distinguish between itemsthat have been automatically sent to the POS in contrast to those thatrequire manual approval (e.g., confirmation) by the wait staff member.

When POS is integrated, but some orders require manual approval. Where arestaurant requires that the wait staff member confirms the itemsordered (e.g., items in categories set to require manual approval), thewait staff member may approve the order from his staff-operable device.In at least some embodiments, the wait staff member will be able toremove items before approving.

Embodiments may also provide for ordering extraordinary/off-menu items.Patrons may want to order off-menu; either items not on the menu orcombinations of modifications/special requests not supported in our UI.It may not be possible to effectively display all options the POS andkitchen can support (and restaurants usually do not want to offer theseoff-menu items anyway). Wait staff members may become aware of anextraordinary item either through a note attached to an item sent fromthe tablet, or through a conversation at the table. Either way, and inone or more of the POS integration scenarios above, the wait staffmember should enter this custom item at the POS directly and delete theitem (if it's not relevant) from their handheld before approving therest of the order.

Also, when an item or group of items is submitted, the submitted itemsare displayed on the assigned staff-operable device 208. When an item orgroup of items are submitted, that is forwarded from the staff-operabledevice that submits the order to the venue computer. In someembodiments, submitted orders are viewable from any activestaff-operable device.

At operation 426, optionally, it is determined whether any of thesubmitted items are categorized as not requiring the approval (e.g.,“confirmation”) of the wait staff member. This determination may bebased upon a configuration value associated with each ordered item. Forexample, some appetizers may not require any wait staff member approval.In some embodiments, depending on restaurant configuration andcomplexity of order, orders will be approved and sent by wait staffmembers from their devices to the POS, automatically sent from the venuecomputer to the POS with a notification sent to the handheld, ormanually entered into the POS by the wait staff member.

For any submitted items that require wait staff member approval, atoperation 428, the wait staff member enters and/or selects his approval.In some embodiments, the wait staff member may modify and/or newly enterinformation associated with the ordered items. For example, the waitstaff member may change the number of portions, preparation preferencesetc. The wait staff member may add free-form information to any of theitems (e.g., as instructions to the kitchen as directed by a patron).The wait staff member may also disapprove and/or cancel one or moreitems.

In some embodiments, a wait staff member can access a listing of ordereditems associated with a particular table by either selecting the tablefrom a list of active tables, or by selecting an alert received fromthat table. Example listings of ordered items displayed on astaff-operable device are illustrated in FIGS. 28-31. The listing ofordered items may arrange activity from that table since tablets wereassigned (note that patrons may order before the wait staff memberstarts the table, so those orders may be captured), along with thestatus and available actions for each menu item.

The listing of the ordered items may include all data captured in theordering process at the tablet in the order list, includingmodifications and manual notes entered by patrons. Each menu item may belisted as being “pending”—the default status, indicating that this is anew order that the wait staff member may take action on (e.g., they caneither SEND the item to the POS or CANCEL the item from the order);“sent”—the order has been sent to the POS, where POS integration exists,some categories of menu items may be automatically sent to the POSwithout wait staff member action; this is up to each restaurant; or“cancelled”—the wait staff member manually canceled this menu itemwithin the handheld UI; it was not and will not be sent to the POS. Insome embodiments, the wait staff member is able to send all pendingitems to the kitchen by selecting a single button.

At operation 430, items that are approved by the wait staff memberand/or items that were indicated as not requiring wait staff memberapproval is transmitted to an entity so that the items may be prepared.For example, upon receiving the approval of the wait staff member forone or more submitted items the venue computer 208 transmits a listingincluding the items, information provided by the patron or wait staffmember for each item, and an identification of the patron and/or tableto a kitchen for preparation of the item.

At operation 432, optionally venue computer 208 may transmit the itemsto a POS 210. Wait staff member-facing functionality on thestaff-operable device for the order list is the same whether or notthere is POS integration, but there may be differences to both back endworkflow and restaurant operations workflow with or without POSintegration.

With POS Integration: restaurants can designate categories of menu itemsto automatically be sent to the kitchen, so wait staff members may seeitems with a “SENT” status without submitting the order themselves; Whena wait staff member “SENDS” an item or group of items, those items aresent to the POS; The ORDER LIST may contain items that were not orderedthrough the tablets—e.g., items ordered through the POS directly.

Without POS integration, the order list may function like a digitalnotepad: wait staff members can keep track of which items they havemanually entered in the POS vs. which are new using the same actionbuttons.

In some embodiments, a staff-operable device may receive alerts from theassociated patron-related devices, other staff-operable devices, by thePOS system, and/or the venue computer. Alerts may be useful for goodcustomer service. For example, alerts notify wait staff members ofactions they need to take for their tables and allow patrons to drivetheir own service experience.

In some embodiments, alerts are shown on all pages/modules of thestaff-operable device at all times. Example listings of alerts on astaff-operable device are illustrated in FIGS. 32-34. Additionally, thestaff-operable device may be configured to for example, buzz, vibrate,or flash when an alert is delivered. A patron-operable device maygenerate an alert to the corresponding staff-operable device for reasonssuch as, but not limited to, indicating that the patrons are ready forthe check, requesting the attention of the wait staff member, or when anew order is entered by a patron. The POS system may alert thestaff-operable device when the table has completed payment.

In operations discussed above, information regarding the items ordered(e.g., such as by finalizing one or more selected but not yet ordereditems based on patron input) on one patron device is received by otherpatron devices assigned to the same table and the staff device assignedto the same table. In some embodiments, the communication between thepatron devices or a patron device and the corresponding staff device isvia one or more other computers, such as, for example, the venuecomputer. For example, the venue computer may, based on its knowledgeregarding the devices being assigned the same table may retransmitinformation received from a patron device or staff device to otherdevices associated with the same table. In some other embodiments, uponbeing assigned a table, each patron device and staff device may beprovided with the information that it may itself use for transmitting(e.g., by multicast, broadcast, or repeated transmission of a particularpiece of information to respective devices) information directly to thepatron devices and/or staff device(s) associated with the same table.

At operation 434, the table is closed out. For example, after the patronhas paid the bill, venue computer 208 or staff-operable device 204 mayindicate that the transactions associated with the table has beencompleted. Closing out the table causes venue computer 208 to recordthat the table is inactive and to release the association between thetable and the currently associated staff-operable device 204. Closingout the table may also include removing the association to the tablefrom the currently associated staff-operable device 204.

Closing out the table, for example, at the end of the meal when thepatrons leave the table, may be performed by the wait staff memberindicating on his list of active tables that the table is now “ended.”For example, they may do this by tapping an END button in the “MY ACTIVETABLES” list next to the relevant table. Ending a table may do thefollowing: resets all tablets currently assigned to that table number;removes the table from the wait staff members “MY ACTIVE TABLES” list;removes the table from the “SHOW ALL TABLES” list; clears all alerts andthe order list for that table number.

At operation 436, staff-operable device is closed out. Closing out thestaff-operable device may include logging off the wait staff member. Insome embodiments, when the wait staff member is logged in to astaff-operable device, the wait staff member's name (e.g., “Michael P.”)and a “log out” button may be displayed at all times during when thewait staff member is logged into the device.

If the wait staff member taps the “log out” button, he or she may beprompted with an overlay message: “Are you sure you want to log out?”with “LOG OUT” and “CANCEL” buttons. If the user taps “CANCEL” theoverlay closes. If the user taps “LOG OUT” then a check may be made forunfinished tasks. The unfinished tasks to be checked for may includewhether there any active tables assigned to this wait staff member,whether there any unresolved orders waiting for wait staff memberapproval in any active tables, and whether there are any service alertsthat have not been dismissed by the wait staff member. If there arethere any active tables assigned to this wait staff member, then anoverlay message “You have active tables. Are you sure you want to logout?” with “LOG OUT” and “CANCEL” buttons may be displayed. If there arethere any service alerts that have not been dismissed by the wait staffmember, then an overlay message, “You have active alerts. Are you sureyou want to log out?” with “LOG OUT” and “CANCEL” buttons, may bedisplayed.

If the wait staff member has active tables when they log out of thehandheld, then those tables may be changed to “UNCLAIMED” and providedfor being assigned to an available wait staff member.

The menu icon in the upper left corner may be used to enable patrons toaccess other content provided through the device such as, for example,the entertainment offerings noted above.

A user may select an item (e.g., through a touch interface provided bythe device), confirm that it should purchased, and add it to an order.In certain example embodiments, coordination may be provided between thepatrons at a given table and/or in a given party. For instance, becauseeach patron may be provided with his/her own device, all orders may beadded to a single order and synchronized so that the order is placed atonce. Similarly, updates may be pushed to a table at a time, e.g., oncethe order has been entered, prepared, delivered, when the check isready, etc.

In certain exemplary embodiments, payment may be processed using thetechniques set forth in U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/875,195, filed onSep. 9, 2013, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein.

It will be appreciated that although certain exemplary embodimentsinvolve a row-by-row top-to-bottom approach, the same or similartechniques may be used on a row-by-row bottom-up basis, in acolumn-by-column left-to-right or right-to-left approach, etc.Similarly, although certain exemplary embodiments involve aleft-to-right approach, right-to-left, top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top,and/or the like may be used in different exemplary embodiments.

It is noted that the example algorithms discussed herein aresufficiently generic to accommodate different numbers of columns in agrid, different numbers of cells used by menu items, and/or the like.

In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that certain exemplaryembodiments provide systems and methods for ordering items usingelectronic menus displayed on patron-operable devices, and/or forservicing such orders by wait staff using staff-operable devices. Theexemplary embodiments provide for synchronization of menu information,ordered item information, order status information, and/or otherassociated information among patron-operable devices and staff-operabledevices, and thus provide for improved customer experience and improvedefficiencies. The exemplary embodiments enable the patrons to be morefully and accurately informed of the menu choices, to easily provideinstructions regarding his/her preferences to the restaurant, toconveniently be informed of what other patrons at the same table haveordered, and to maintain a high degree of control in relation to theorder. The exemplary embodiments also provide the wait staff the abilityto reduce errors in taking orders, to maintain a high degree of controlregarding the order, to provide accurate instructions to the kitchen andto the POS, to be accurately informed regarding the status of each tablebeing serviced, to perform tasks such as moving and/or transferring atable, etc. Moreover, in embodiments, the menu information may be storedin servers accessible in the cloud so that additional efficiencies canbe achieved across multiple locations of a restaurant.

While the preferred aspects of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed herein, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart that various changes and/or modifications can be made. Thus, thespecific description herein is meant to be exemplary only and is notintended to limit the invention beyond the terms of appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for ordering items from an electronicmenu, in a networked computing environment that communicably connectsvia a local area network in a venue at least a plurality of firsthandheld electronic devices, a plurality of second handheld electronicdevices and a venue computer, the method comprising: associating apredetermined identifier with a first handheld electronic device, thepredetermined identifier identifying a group of two or more of the firsthandheld electronic devices, wherein the associating includes recordingin a memory of the venue computer respective entries each associating arespective one of the handheld electronic devices in the group with thepredetermined identifier, wherein the identified group is one of aplurality of groups each comprising two or more of the first handheldelectronic devices and each being identified by a respectivepredetermined identifier; displaying at least a part of the electronicmenu of order items on a display of at least one of the two or more thefirst handheld electronic devices; receiving, at each of the two or morefirst handheld electronic devices in the group, input selecting one ormore order items from the displayed menu for an order, wherein the ordercomprises the one or more selected order items s; receiving inputindicating finalizing of the order comprising the selected one or moreorder items; based upon a selection of the predetermined identifier on adisplay of a second handheld electronic device configured differentlythan the first handheld electronic device or based upon an input of thepredetermined identifier to the second handheld electronic device,associating the second handheld electronic device with the group of thetwo or more first handheld electronic devices that are each associatedwith the predetermined identifier; receiving, at the second handheldelectronic device, the finalized order for one or more order items fromat least one of the two or more first handheld electronic devicesassociated with the predetermined identifier; displaying the receivedorder on a display of the second handheld electronic device; and basedupon an input received at the second handheld electronic device,transmitting one or more of the order items to the venue computer forfurther consideration of the one or more order items.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising updating a list of ordereditems displayed on at least one of the two or more first handheldelectronic devices based upon items ordered using other of the two ormore first handheld electronic devices associated with the predeterminedidentifier.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein each firsthandheld electronic device is a patron-operated device.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein each of the first handheld electronicdevices is a patron-operated device.